Step to the Music

 

Late May and early June are the traditional times for graduation ceremonies. When Tomoko taught at San Domenico School, the girls graduated to classical music – often Vivaldi. Classical piano music is perfect for graduation ceremonies. Here is the ultimate graduation piano repertoire.

 

1. Processional Music (Walking to Seats)

This music should be steady, dignified, and elegant.

• "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" by J.S. Bach: A serene, uplifting chorale that brings a sense of grace and accomplishment.
• "Clair de Lune" by Claude Debussy: Smooth, dreamy, and atmospheric. Perfect if you want an ethereal, reflective background during the walk-in.
• "Gymnopédie No. 1" by Erik Satie: Minimalist and calm, ideal for a quiet, focused processional.

 

2. Interludes & Diploma Presentations

Music played softly while diplomas are handed out should be engaging without overwhelming the speakers.

• "Waltz in A-flat major, Op. 39, No. 15" by Johannes Brahms: A bright, buoyant, and joyful waltz.
• "Für Elise" by Ludwig van Beethoven: Highly recognizable and gentle, excellent for quieter moments.
• "Nocturne in E-flat Major, Op. 9, No. 2" by Frédéric Chopin: Luxurious and flowing, offering a warm, celebratory elegance.

 

3. Recessional Music (Exiting the Ceremony)

The final walk-out music should be triumphant, energetic, and grand.

• "Rondo alla Turca" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Fast-paced, bright, and sparkling with victorious energy.
• "Triumphal March" from Aida by Giuseppe Verdi: While originally an orchestral piece, stellar piano arrangements capture the exact triumphant, crowning-achievement.
• "War March of the Priests" by Felix Mendelssohn: A robust and commanding piece from Athalia that projects an undeniable sense of triumph and accomplishment.

 

 

Where did classical piano composers get their training?

 

Classical piano composers received training through private instruction from experienced musicians, formal education at music conservatories and universities, mentorship from senior composers, and extensive self-study and practice, including analyzing and copying the works of other composers. The specific method varied, but a strong foundation in music theory, harmony, and composition, often through pattern-based exercises, was a common element across different training paths. Many composers attended formal institutions, such as the Paris Conservatoire or the Mozarteum in Salzburg, which offered structured programs in music theory, composition, and performance. In contrast, some composers initially trained by private tutors, often family members or established musicians. In many cases, these composers were child prodigies who began their musical education at a very young age. Here is a sampling of individuals’ instruction and apprenticeship.

Mozart received intensive musical training from his father, Leopold, who was a composer and violinist. It should be noted, though, while guided by his father, Mozart was a musical genius from a very young age and largely developed his own unique style. Furthermore, starting a performance career as a child (under his father’s management), Mozart’s early education involved traveling throughout Europe, where he observed and absorbed the different musical styles of the time.

Beethoven began piano lessons with his father, who was his first teacher. He then studied with other musicians in his hometown of Bonn before moving to Vienna to study with Joseph Haydn, who famously invited Beethoven to become his student. Beethoven also took composition lessons from the court organist Christian Gottlob Neefe. 

Chopin started learning the piano from his mother before the age of six. He was then trained by private tutors, such as Wojciech Zywny, who recognized and nurtured his unique talent. Next, Chopin studied at the Warsaw Conservatory, which refined his compositional skills. 

Liszt was taught piano by his father from the age of five. After his family moved to Vienna, he studied with renowned teachers like Carl Czerny, a former student of Beethoven, and the court composer Antonio Salieri. While touring as a piano virtuoso, Liszt was influenced by other composers and musicians such as Niccolò Paganini and Hector Berlioz. 

Of course, these and other piano composers only achieved greatness and renown because they understood, practiced and honed the training they received. Teachers can only teach; students have to do the learning.  

 

 

Teaching What You Compose and Play

 Tomoko is known for both her piano performance and her piano teaching ability. Those same skills and careers apply to several outstanding classical piano composers. Here is a sampling.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) was a prolific teacher who instructed both his family members and university students. His famous collections of keyboard music, such as the Inventions and The Well-Tempered Clavier, were expressly written for instructional purposes. His pedagogy focused on attentive listening, finger independence, clear articulation, and a strong understanding of harmony. 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) earned a significant income from teaching piano to members of the nobility to supplement his income from concerts and commissions. His lessons combined performance practice, compositional theory, and technique training, sometimes even during informal settings like billiards. However, Mozart thought he could teach more by simply playing a piece for a student than through verbal instruction alone.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) taught piano lessons throughout his career to supplement his income, especially when he started out and before his hearing loss became severe. His most famous pupil was Carl Czerny, who documented and passed on Beethoven's methods for interpreting his piano works. Czerny's pedagogical approach is considered the foundation of modern piano technique. 

Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849) earned a significant portion of his income by teaching piano to aristocratic students in Paris. He was a meticulous and passionate teacher who focused on beautiful, expressive tone and fluidity, which he often demonstrated on a second piano. His method emphasized relaxation and natural hand movement, rather than the rigid, mechanical exercises common at the time. Students were taught using works by Bach, Mozart, Hummel, and Chopin himself.

Franz Liszt (1811–1886) was a legendary piano teacher who instructed hundreds of students in his masterclasses. He never charged for his lessons, which was a source of frustration for rival teachers. Rather than drilling technique, he focused on musical interpretation, and he used his lessons to discuss a piece's form, proportion, and emotional character.

Clara Schumann (1819–1896) was a highly regarded pianist and composer – and piano teacher – of the Romantic era.  Her disciplined and traditionalist style of playing, which emphasized a singing tone and clarity, influenced many students.

Ringing in the New Year with January-born Piano Composers

 Several classical composers started their lives at the beginning of a year: January. As a good first example is one of Tomoko’s favorite harpsichord and fortepiano composers: Mozart, who was born on January 27, 1756 in Vienna.  Here are some more famous January piano composers.

Franz Schubert was born on January 31, 1797, in Himmelpfortgrund, Austria. Although he died early, at age 31, Schubert composed more than 600 secular vocal works and with many piano pieces. Tomoko performed one of his famous works: Trout Quintet.

Giovani Battista Draghi was born on January 4, 1710, om Jesi, Italy. He too died early: at age 26, from tuberculosis. Nevertheless, he is considered one of the greatest composers of the early 18^th century. Known for his Baroque pieces, the most famous is his Stabat Mater. Draghi was also an accomplished organist.

Alexander Scriabin was born on January 6, 1872, in Moscow. He was largely influenced by Chopin and is associated with late Romanticism and Russian symbolism. In turn, he influenced Stravinsky and Prokofiev. During his life, Scriabin was known as a controversial professional pianist besides being a composer. Scriabin’s ten sonatas for piano have become increasingly acclaimed.  

Francis Poulenc was born on January 7, 1899, in Paris. Among his compositions were solo piano works, the most famous one being the Trois Mouvements Perpetuels suite. His Organ Concerto is also well known. Under Satie’s mentorship, Poulenc was part of Les Six: six young neoclassic composers. He started playing the piano at age six, and was influenced by Schubert and Stravinsky.

Frederick Delius was born on January 29, 1862, in Bradford, England. While he taught violin, he took more delight in improvising on the piano. Like Scriabin, Delius was first influenced by Chopin. While he lived in Florida to manage his family’s orange plantation, he began composing, having been influence by African-American music there. He was not successful in agriculture but he was promoted by several conductors. The Delius Society continues to promote him, and sponsors an annual Delius Prize competition for young musicians.  

 

Laboring Music

 Labor Day celebrates workers, which includes pianists and other musicians. Here is a sampling of classical music that honors labor. While most of these pieces were not originally composed for the piano, arrangements for piano are usually available.

Probably the most renown piece that celebrates labor is Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, which honors those who fought in WWII. In response, Joan Tower wrote Fanfares for the Uncommon Woman, which is scored identically to Copland’s Fanfare. Copland also honored cowboys in his ballet Rodeo; the selection “Hoe-Down” is frequently performed on the piano.

For most of civilization, farming has been the job of the majority of people. Schumann's “The Happy Farmer” is one piece from his collection Album for the Young,  which was written for his own children to teach them about the piano. All the pieces are relatively easy to play, unlike the work of the farmer.

Traditionally, learning a job was done through apprenticeships. Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice musically demonstrates how a little knowledge can do damage.

Satie's Sonatine Bureaucratique is a humorous parody of Clementi's Sonatina Op. 36 No. 1. It musically depicts the daily life of the Parisian bureaucrat.

Another pointed message about labor is conveyed in Antheil’s Ballet Mecanique. It was written the same year as Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, and focuses on urban labor. In this case, the repetitiveness of factory work is emphasized.

On the other hand, Verdi’s Il Trovatore is best known through its “Anvil Chorus”, sung by gypsies who are proud of their hard work.

The sometimes-troubling life of the worker is depicted in music as well. Mozart’s Figaro, a valet, has trouble with his Count master in The Marriage of Figaro. Later, in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, Figaro becomes a barber, but still has troubles with the Count.  Bizet’s Carmen follows the deeper troubles of a seductive cigarette worker.

Workers’ hard labor often led to unionization. Arnold’s Peterloo Overture was written for the 1968 centenary of the Trade Union Congress.

This Labor Day, we honor the labor of pianists and other musicians everywhere who make our labor a little easier to bear.

Unique Pianos

 

True, each piano is unique because each part has its own features, and when put together with alal the rest of the parts, the sum makes for a unique playing experience and sound. However, pianos overall seem pretty much standard with grand, upright (e.g., spinet), portable and electric types. Nevertheless, pianos have been made that are visibly unique.

Pianos have been made of crystal; Liberace’s piano was covered in rhinestones. Upright pianos have been known to include aquarium tanks. You can even make a piano from legos.

Speaking of toys, a Swede created a piano tutorial using Minecraft.

More professionally, Sony created the world’s smallest grand piano that actually works. Each key is only four millimeters wide, and the whole piano is less than a food wide.

You may have seen giant floor pianos where the players step on the keys. (It’s more common to see very limited keyboards, known as step piano mats, as children’s toys.)

One piano is in the shape of an open circle (think of a very large skinny doughnut), and the pianist plays inside it.

The Schindler yacht piano is upright with foldable keyboards.

Bed-ridden? Back in 1935 a piano was made specifically for such individuals? Basically, the piano keyboard folded out of a cabinet, tipped at an angle so one could play it while lying down.

When is a piano like an organ? When it has multiple pedals: a pedal board. That feature goes back as far as to Mozart, who had his own piano with a pedal board. He would even travel with it for his performances, operating the pedals as easily was with his hands because he was also expert on the organ. Hundreds of years late, in 2000, a double-decker concert grant piano was design with an additional 37 pedals.

You may be familiar with pianos in cocktail bars. What about a pianocktail that mixes drinks, based on the combination of notes played? Each note has a corresponding drink, such as a wine, a spirit, a liquor, or a fruit juice. A soda is created from a cadenza in F-sharp. Even pedals are part of the mixology; the load pedal puts in egg flip, and the soft pedal adds ice.

And if you are interested in all-in-one musical instruments, watch this video of a marble machine: a musical instrument using 2000 marbles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvUU8joBb1Q

Musical Pranks

It's April Fools' Day.: a day of (hopefully harmless) pranks. Musicians and composers have been known to play pranks on the piano. Probably the most famous playful piano perforrmer was the Danish-American pianist and comic Victor Borge.

One piece that Borge liked to perform was a version of Liszt's Second Hungarian Rhapsody (especially the friska section), which is considered a musical comedic classic and has been featured in animated cartoons.

Mozart once wrote an aria for a soprano who tended raise her head for high notes and tuck in her chin for low notes. Mozart hated her, so the nicknamed piece, “The Chicken Dance” in Cosi fan Tutte, featured dramatic fluctuating low and high notes; Mozart took delight in watching the soprano bob her head repeatedly.

More recently, Leroy Anderson is known for his lighthearted compositions, such as The Syncopated Clock. His pieces sometimes featured unlikely instruments such as a typewriter.

Debussy's Carnival of Animals is charming, but how many people realize that his “Tortoises” is actually a very slow version of Offenbach's “Can-Can”?

P. D. Q. Bach is a comedic alias for contemporary composer Peter Schickele. He creates parodies of baroque and classical music, which often employ unusual instruments such as kazoo and slide whistles and even fictional instruments such as the left-handed sewer flute and pastaphone. His humor often draws from odd key changes and inserts of popular music into classical sections.

Violinist Fritz Kreisler played “lost” classical pieces, which she later admitted writing himself. Another violinist, Henri Gustave Casadesus, also wrote faked compositions, supposedly created by Handel and Boccherini.

Some musicians also played practical jokes. For instance, Brahms sketched a fake Beethoven manuscript, and had a street vendor wrap it around a sausage to sell to one of Brahms' friend, who thought he had discovered a lost composition.

Who says composers don't have a sense of humor?

January Piano Composers

 

Start the year right by celebrating great piano composers who, themselves, began their lives in January. Several of them rate high with Tomoko.

Probably her favorite composer, Mozart, was born in Salzburg on January 27, 1756. Tomoko was married in Salzburg, and visited Mozart’s landmarks there.

One of the earlier composers, who competed with Mozart, is Musio Clementi, who was born in Rome on January 23, 1752. He was influenced by Scarlatti, Haydn and Bach; in turn, he influenced Beethoven and Chopin, two more favorite composers of Tomoko. Clementi produced is own brand of pianos and was a music publisher.

Another special composer on Tomoko’s list is Franz Schubert, who was born in Himmelpfortgrund, Austria, on January 31, 1797. This early Romantic composer died when he was only 32, but he left over 600 secular vocal works as well as symphonies operas and many piano compositions.

Almost a hundred years later, Parisian Francis Poulenc was born on January 7, 1899. He wrote light-hearted pieces such as the piano suite Trois Mouvements Perperpetuels, and in his later years composed religious pieces.

Past into the Future: Video Games and Classical Music

 

Music has been associated with games for millennia with fighting songs and victory anthems. Music has also played a key role in video games. Particularly as technical advances have enabled video games to include whole symphonic music, classical pieces have been incorporated (and public domain status has also helped in terms of copyright and royalties). Especially as San Diego Comic-Con is happening, now is a good time to sample classical piano pieces that have been used in video games. Even Tomoko might be surprised at the ways that her favorite composers have been integrated into this recent game format.

Starting with the obvious, Eternal Sonata is an RPG (role-playing games) about a composer’s life, its premise being Chopin’s dying dream. Among the pieces featured in this game is a remixed version of Chopin’s “Revolutionary” etude, Opus 10, no. 12 in C minor, used in the game’s final battle scene.

Another natural use of classical music is experienced in the video game franchise Civilization. Ever since the first game in 1991, famous classical pieces have served as thematic ties for events and leaders. Pieces range from Gregorian chants to Romantic Age compositions by Brahms, Dvorak and Saint-Saens to underscore the historic period.

On the other hand, Debussy is probably not the first name that comes to mind, particularly for sinister games. Nevertheless, his Claire de Lune is featured in the game The Evil Within. The piece is used as a counter to horror, reassuring the player that safety is nearby.

Speaking of dark games, Schubert’s “Ave Maria” (aka “Ellen’s Third Song” from Seven Songs from Walter Scott’s The Lady of the Lake) starts the game Hitman: Blood Money. Its peaceful tone is almost an ironic counterpoint to this violent game.  

On a more positive note, Mozart and Bioshock? 2013’s Bioshock Infinite includes a visit to a Hall of Heroes memorial, which mood is accentuated with a section from Mozart’s Requiem in D minor.

Disney characters rule in the game Kingdom Hearts. It’s not surprising, then, that the game’s music would draw from Disney’s movie Fantasia, specifically Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain.

Speaking of kingdoms, in the game Earthworm Jim 2, the main character must save the princess from an archvillain.  Beethoven’s third movement rondo “Moonlight” from his Piano Sonata no. 14 in C# minor plays in the background. The sonata’s first movement underscores Jim’s floating through a creature’s intestine. This sonata may never feel the same after that experience.

The game Grand Theft Auto III uses a clever ploy: the car’s classical music radio state, complete with a parodied culture vulture DJ. The player drives around creating chaos, accompanied by background music from Le Nozze di Figaro, La Traviata, Lucia di Lammermoor, Rigoletto, and Don Giovanni.

You never know where classical music will pop up; it’s that popular.

Here Comes the Bridal Piano

 

In the US, June has been the traditional month for weddings. Music is also a traditional part of weddings, and piano piece figure largely. Here is a sampling, all written by composers whom Tomoko admires.

The traditional standard wedding piece is Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Opus 61: IX. Wedding March.  It is often performed in the movies (perhaps because it is in the public domain). A less known wedding choice composed by Mendelssohn, but very endearing, is his “On Wings of Song.”

Tomoko’s favorite piano composer, Mozart, wrote “Serenade, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, K 525: II. Romanza-Andante.“ Its stately, measured pace give the wedding ceremony sweet gravitas. To set a more lively yet majestic tone, the wedding couple might choose Mozart’s overture to The Marriage of Figaro. Or if the couple wants to exult, they can always choose Mozart’s “Alleluja” from Exsultate, Jubilate, K 165.

Planning an elegant and sophisticated wedding? Then Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Arioso” would set the tone. Tomoko appreciates his timeless structure and use of chords.

Beethoven’s love letter in music, “Fur Elise,” resonates even today, and couples can affirm their own requited love. Tomoko knows that this famous piano piece may serve as a rite of passage for aspiring piano players.

“Claire de lune” from Debussy’s Suite Bergamasque is another favorite (as is Debussy for Tomoko). Its dreamy soft theme creates a lovely background for weddings.

Another romantic choice is Saint-Saens’ “The Swan” from his Carnival of the Animals. Its almost melancholy tone that resolves into a major key reflects the transition from singlehood to couplehood.

Another favorite composer of Tomoko, Edvard Grieg, is known for his “Wedding Day at Troldhauen, Opus 65, No. 6.” It bears a surprising resemblance to The King and I’s “March of the Siamese Children.”

For the bride’s entrance, Strauss’s Radetzky March” Opus 228 makes a bold statement. Strauss’s “Blue Danube” evokes the spirit of Vienna. And while waltzes are not the usual fare at wedding receptions, imagine how lovely the bride and groom would look if this were their first dance.

Tomoko also enjoys the dance music of Brahms. His piece “Hungarian Dance No. 5 in G Minor” strikes a special chord for Tomoko as she married a Hungarian.

"Chill' July Piano Composers

 

Summertime can heat up; one way to “chill” is with a good piano selection. And there are several piano composers with July birthdays, so you can celebrate the month AND their music at the same time.

Tomoko studies composers as part of her preparation for performing, and she considers the style of each composer when she chooses pieces for her students. Here are some of Tomoko’s favorite July composers.

Number one on the list for Tomoko has to be Mozart, born on July 26, 1791. “I have a natural feeling about Mozart,” Tomoko says;“I could play a piece of his twenty  times, and not tire of it.” And Mozart has helped Tomoko’s career. For instance, while at the conservatory student on a US visa, Tomoko had to audition to prove that she was a serious music student. She played a Mozart concerto as her audition piece, which showcased her expertise and self-confidence; her performance enabled her to stay in the conservatory’s program.

Two July-born composers, Field and Granado, are featured on Tomoko’s CD Baroque-20^th Century. John Field was born on July 26, 1782, in Dublin. His music was considered one of the most influential of the early Romantic period, inspiring several of Tomoko’s composers, whose music she plays regularly: Brahms, Chopin, Liszt, and Schumann.  In contrast, Spaniard Enrique Granados was born on July 27, 1867. He is known for both a romantic style and for nationalistic pieces such as Spanish Dances. Some of the compositions have been transcribed for classical guitar.

Also linked with folk music is Percy Grainger, who was born on July 8, 1882 in Brighton, Australia. He led the movement of reviving British folk music as reflected in his arrangement of the folk dance tune Country Gardens. Many of his other compositions are experimental, including the use of music machines. Tomoko values traditional musical forms, which express a sense of communal culture.

Tomoko is also a devotee of Bach. One July piano composer with a good sense of humor is Peter Schickele, who has composed parodies of Bach’s music using the alias of P. D. Q. Bach; sample titles include “Canine Cantata” and “A Little Nightmare Music.” Schickele has also composed music for Joan Baez, and done more serious compositions as well. Schickele was born on July 17, 1935. He was also a music educator, and hosted a long-running weekly radio program called Schickele Mix.

One 20^th century Japanese compatriot piano composers born in July was Yasushi Akutagawa, born on July 12, 1925. Akutagawa attended the same university as Tomoko: Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. His compositions were influenced by several composers whom Tomoko likes: Stravinsky, Shostakovich, and Prokofiev. Akutagawa was also a music educator like Tomoko.

Overcoming Challenges

 

Tomoko knows the value of persistence, even when experiencing challenges and failure. She asserts: “Each piano piece has some kind of physical challenge. Tomoko also associates learning to play the piano to mountain climbing. “You need to go up lots of small mountains. If the road is right, you will reach up. So practice daily, and step nicely.” 

Tomoko also shares stories about pianists and composers of piano pieces with her students, and sometimes mentions the challenges these individuals faced and overcame.

For instance, Mozart was a court musician in Salzburg, but was very unhappy in his job. He quarreled frequently with the Archbishop, and was fired from that position. However, he felt liberated, and became a famous pianist after performing in competition before the emperor.

Rachmaninov’s composing career had a rocky start. His first symphony’s premier was a disaster, partly because the orchestra hadn’t rehearsed enough and the conductor was drunk. For three years, Rachmaninov composed very little because he was so depressed. Fortunately, he was able to get psychiatric help, and his later Piano Concerto No. 2 became internationally applauded.

Robert Schumann also started as a performing pianist, but his little finger on his right hand was weak. He tried to fix that problem, but his hand became permanently damaged instead. With that career out of the picture, he turned to composing, and is known for his romantic piano works.

Jean Sibelius started his musical career as a violinist but was turned down by orchestras. He thought he was too old to train further for performance but instead of foregoing music, he decided to switch to composing. He not only wrote great violin concertos but also impressive piano compositions.

Beethoven experienced several challenges. As a boy, he was dominated by his alcoholic father, and then had to be the breadwinner for his family when his father declined and died. Then as early as in his twenties, Beethoven’s hearing started to decline. However, he wrote his best musical compositions when he could hear the music only in his head.

Tomoko too has had her own challenges, but has succeeded as a piano performer and award-winning piano teacher. She and the musicians above are worthy models for piano learners.

  

Gabriel Fauré and Tomoko

Tomoko asserts that at each decade in life, certain composers are particularly apt. For instance, Tomoko recommends Fauré for pianists in their thirties; “He is so elegant,” she says. Tomoko also likes to explore composers’ lives because it adds to the richness and context of the music. To that end, then, here are some aspects of Fauré that inform his works.

Gabriel Urbain Fauré was born in 1845 in southern France. One of six children, he was the only musically sibling. Upon advice and with the help of a scholarship, his father sent Gabriel to a boarding school for nine years to study music, mainly church music. However, when composer Camille Saint-Saëns took over piano studies, he introduced contemporary music and mentored Gabriel. 

Upon graduating, Gabriel served as a church organist and gave piano lessons. Soon the Franco-Prussian War began, and he volunteers to military service. After the war he taught in Switzerland, and then returned to Paris to serve as a choirmaster and later a church organist. Throughout his life he also taught, later in life more composition than performance; he was even appointed health of Paris Conservatoire.

Early on, Fauré promoted new French music as a founding member of the Société Nationale de Musique, which included important composers of the day. This networking – along with frequent travels where he connected with still more computers -- stimulated his own compositions, which were mainly for piano and for stringed instruments. He was influenced by Chopin, Mozart and Schumann in his early years. His harmonic and melodic style were innovative, and presaged Impressionist composers as well foreshadowed Schoenberg’s atonal compositions. He was also a master of the French art song. 

For her album Touria, Tomoko performed two of Fauré’s early impromptus and “Siciienne,” which was originally written for a theatrical production.  The three compositions all have a lightness of spirit, which would lighten the day for performers in their thirties.

Hurray for Haydn

Tomoko’s first commercial album includes a piece by Haydn. It was a good starting choice for Tomoko.  Haydn laid the groundwork for so many musicians, just as Tomoko’s first CD album led to ten more CDs of her performances. Several points in Haydn’s life also resonate for Tomoko.

To start with, Haydn was born in Rohrau, Austria, which bordered onto Hungary. Tomoko and Desi wed in Austria, and Desi is Hungarian. 

Haydn’s family was musical. His father was a folk musician, and the family sang together. Tomoko’s father played the violin as a hobby, and Tomoko liked to sing. Tomoko’s brother played organ and piano, and Tomoko followed eagerly.

Haydn started his career as a freelance musician as did Tomoko. He was a music teacher, played the organ at a chapel, and was an accompanist. Likewise, as a high schoolers Tomoko accompanied singers, she taught piano early on, and she played the organ for the local Catholic church while in college. 

When Haydn was building his musical reputation, he gained aristocratic patronage. While studying at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, one of the board members paid Tomoko’s tuition at one point so she could continue her studies. 

Haydn’s concerts were very popular, as are Tomoko’s. Unlike Haydn though, Tomoko’s concerts include performances with others – as well as solo playing by her friends and students. 

While he lived in Vienna, one of Haydn’s friends was Mozart, and was very impressed with Mozart’s work. Tomoko too was very influenced by Mozart and it’s one of her favorite composers to perform. 

Later, Haydn met and taught a young Beethoven. Similarly, some of Tomoko’s students have become professional musicians and composers in their own right. As for Beethoven himself, Tomoko also considers him one of her favorite composers. 

No wonder that Tomoko is in harmony with Haydn.